Circuit-breaker



gagement with the contacts, said circuit breaking device being subjectto a predetermined power to be developed by the electric current in saidelectro-magnetic device.

2. A circuit breaker including a hollow plug adapted to plugreceptacles, separate contact elements. adapted to be placed in circuitwith conductor wires, an electro-- magnetic device in circuit with saidcontacts and comprising coils housed within said hollow plug, aswingablecircuit-breaking device adapted to engage and separate said contacts orto assume a position away from said contacts, means tending to swingsaid circuit-breaking device to a position for separating said contacts,and a stop normally in the path of movement of said cir' cuit-breakingdevice to prevent a circuit breaking movement thereof, said stop beingsubject to said electro-magnetic device for releasing thecircuit-breaking device under a predetermined power developed in theelectro-magnetic device. a I

3. A circuit breaker including separable contact'elements adapted to beplaced in circuit with conductor wires, an electromagnetic device incircuit with said "contacts, a circuit-breaking device adapted to engageand separatesaidcontacts to break the circuit or to assume. a positionout of engagement with the contacts, a turnable spindle carrying saidcircuit-breaking de-.

vice, a spring tending to turn said spindle for moving thecircuit-breaking device to circuit-breaking position, an armature leversubject to said electro-m'agnetic device, a stop on said armature leverand normally restraining the circuit-breaking device and spindle againstturning, and means controllable from the exterior of the.circuit-breaking device and adjustable for varying the ate path from aposition out of engage'' ment with said contacts to a position engagingthe latter, spring means tending to swing said circuit-breaking devicefor breaking the circuit, an electro-magnetic device in circuit withsaid contacts and comprising coils housed within said hollow plug, anarmature sub ect to a predetermined current energizing saidelectro-magnetic device,

' a stop on said armature and normally disposed in the path of movementof the circuit-breaking deviceto move out of said path with a movementof the armature,and

means on said armature adapted. to engage said disk and prevent actualcontact of the armature with the electro-magnetic device.

5. A circuit breaker including separable contact elements adapted to beplaced in cirf cuit with conductor wires,- an electro-mag- 'netic devicein circuit with said contacts,

a circuit-breaking arm adapted to move from a position out ofengagementwith said contacts to a position engaging the contacts and separatingthe same for breaking the circuit, a spindle carrying said arm andturnable from the exterior of the circuit breaker for resetting said armout of engagement with the contacts, 'a' torsion spring tending to turnsaid spindle and swing said arm tocircuit-breaking position, an armaturesubject to said electromagnetic device, and a stop on said arm andnormally in the path of said arm to restrain the latter out ofengagement with the contacts until the armature is attracted by saidelectro-magnetic devi'cer '6. A circuit breaker including separablecontact elements-adapted to be -placed in circuit with conductor wires,an electromagnetic device in circuit with said contacts, acircuit-breaking device movable from a position out :of engagement withsaid contacts to a position engaging and separating said contacts forbreaking the circuit, means tending to throw said circuitbreaking devicetoa circuit-breaking position, resetting means for saidcircuit-breakposition and movable with said armature for releasing saidcircuit-breaking device, a spring on said armature and extending at theopposite side of the vfulcrum from said stop, and means operable fromthe exterior of the circuit-breaker for varying the tension of saidspring to vary the resist- I ance of the armature lever to theelectromagnetic'device. c

7.. A circuit breaker including separable contact elements adapted to beplaced circuit with conductor wires, an electro-niagneti'c device incircuit with said contacts,- a circuit-brea'kingdevice movable from -aposition out of engagement with said contacts to a position engaging andseparating said contacts for breaking the circuit means tending to throwsaid c1rcuit-break1ng device to a circuit-breaking position, resettingmeans for said circuit-breaking device and, controllable fromtheexterior of the circuit breaker, an armature lever 'subjectto saidelectromagnetic device, a stop on said' armature lever and normallyrestraining said c1rcu1t-break1ng device from PATENT OFFICEQ GWYN OSCAROWEN DAVIES, OF CLE ELUM, WASHINGTON. I

CIRCUIT-BREAKER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 10, 1921.

Application filed December 3, 1919. Serial No. 342,050.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GWYN O. O. DAvms, a. citizen of the United States,and a resident of Cle Elum, in the county of Kittitas andState oflVashington, have invented a new and Improved Circuit-Breaker, of whichthe following is a description.

My invention relates to an automatic, electro-magnetic, overload circuitbreaker of compact form adaptable to plug fuse receptacles, to beemployed in house lighting and other electrical circuits; and theobjects of my invention are first, to provide a more eflicient and moredurable device for the protection of electrical circuits from the damagewrought by over-loads or short circuits; second, to provide a means forreadily adjusting the circuit breaker to respond to various over-loadsfor Various normal loads; third, to provide a means whereby the operatormay readily determine which circuit breaker, due to the passage of anexcessive current of electricity, has broken the electrical circuit;fourth, to provide a means for easily completing a circuit which hasbeen broken by said circuit breaker and thereby eliminate 'the presentnecessity of either refilling, renewing .or replacing said circuitbreaker. t

The present invention is more particularly designed as an improvement onthe circuit breaker forming the subject matter of United States LettersPatent No. 1,310,562, granted to me July 22, 1919.

The general object of the present inven-' tion is to provide a circuitbreaker of the indicated type improved in various particulars to the endthat the device will be dependable and efiicient, and that it may beaccurately adjusted to the load it is in tended to carry as well as topromote economy in extending the life of the device practicallyindefinitely and to increase the facility with which the device may beset, and to provide novel means to indicate whether the circuit isclosed or broken, whereby to readily discover the condition of any ofseveral of the circuit breakers, as to the current being on or off, whena number of the circuit breakers are employed.

The nature of the present invention and its advantages will clearlyappear from the I specific description following.

Reference is to be had to the accompanymg draw ngs forming a part ofthis specification, 1t being understood that the draw- 1ng are merelyillustrative of one example of the invention.

Figure l is a side elevation partly in section of a circuit'breakerembodying my invention with the circuit closed; I

Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation at right angles to Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view, the knob of the spindle carrying the circuitbreaking arm being omitted;

Fig. 1 in a plan view, thecap and the adjusting screw for the springemployed in connection with the armature being omitted;

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the circuit.

In carrying out my invention in practice, in accordance with the presentinvention, a disk 10 of suitableinsulating material is provided, havinga cap 11 secured thereto at the lower edge of the cap, a screw lug 12being secured to the disk at the ront side and adapted to be received inany approved socket or receptacle as generally employed to receive adevice of this character. The cap and disk may be secured in anysuitable manner to be out of electrical connection, the cap in the formshown being indicated as ,crimped over the edge of the disk andtherebeing indicated arcuate projections 14 on the plug extending into andthrough the disk to the rear side thereof.

A suitable electro-magnetic device such as an electro-magnet, solenoid,or the like, is employed, there being shown in the illustrated exampleelectro-magnetic coils 16 about a U-shaped, soft metal core 15, thesebeing disposed at the front side of the disk 10 within the plug 12, thelugs of the core extending through the said disk to the .rear sidethereof and suitably fastened thereto as by riveting. One terminal ofthe coils is in electrical connection with the contact member 18 hereshown as secured by a rivet 19 to disk 10, and a separate coactingcontact member 20 is disposed adjacent to the contact 18, the two beingnormally in contact to complete the circuit. The contact terial, such asslate adapted to be carried' withthe swinging of the arm 22 to enterbetween the contact elements 18, 20 tor breaking the circuit. Thespindle 23 outside of the cap 11 has a suitable milled knob 25 or thelike for setting the circuit breaker. An indicator arm 29 bearing thelegends On, Off is rigid with the spindle 23, the legends beingobservable through an opening 29 formed in cap 11, thereby indicatingwhether the circuit is closed or broken.

Spring means is provided, normally tending to turn the circuit breakingarm 22 and its spindle 23 through an arc to dispose the blade 24 betweenthe contact elements 18 and 20, said spring means in the presentinstance consisting of a torsion spring 26 coiled about the spindle 23,one end of the spring being secured as at 27 to the arm 22 and theopposite end secured as at 231110 disk 10. -When the spindle 23 isturned by its knob 25 to withdraw the blade 24 from .the

contact elements anddispose the arm 22 in position with said'blade awayfrom said contact elements, the spring 26 is placed under tension readyto react for breaking the circuit by swinging the arm 22 and blade 24 tocircuit-breaking position and the arm 22 is restrained in position withthe circuit closed bya magnetically controlled latch means nextdescribed.

' An armature rear side of disk 10 and is here shown as ful crumed atone end by' a pin 31 on a bracket 32 rigidly secured to disk 10, saidpin passing through ears on said lever and through ears on said bracket.Projecting from said lever at the forward end is a latch arm 33extending beneath the circuit-breaking arm 22 and terminatingat-thefarside of said arm in a latch projection 34'adapted to engage said armand normally constitute a stop against the movement of said arm forbreaking the circuit except as the latch is dis engaged from the arm bythe attraction of the armature when the coils 16 are energized.

In order to prevent the armature 30 from actual contact with the core15, arm 33 is provided with a stop member 35 projecting in the directionof the disk 10 to limit the movement of the armature by contact withsaid disk.

In, order to vary the resistance of the armature lever 30 to theattraction of the magtion of the parts.

lever 30 is disposed at the 5 netic device when energized, I provide onsaid lever at the rear end a spring 36 which advantageously is a platespring and extends from its connection with the lever to apoint ducedend or tenon 38 on an adjusting screw 39, said screw extending throughthe cap 11 and being provided with a milled knob 40 or the like forturning it, to thereby adjust the tension of the spring and inconsequence increase or decrease the resistance of the armature to themagnetic attraction. Said screw 39 1s provided with a pointer arm 41outside of the cap'll and swingable over the surface thereof with theturning of said screw, there being a suitable scale 42 produced on thecap to register thdmovement of the pointer arm 41. r

One conductor terminal 43 of the coil 16 extends through and is inelectrical connection' with a contact plug 44 in the end of the I Iscrew plug 12, said plug '44 being secured by an insulating bushingformed of inner and outer washers 45, 46. Ifdesired, an insulati-ngcylinder 47 may be provided in the plug 12 and extendingabout the coils16 as a precaution against short circuiting should accident result inthe distortion or deforma- Similarly, an insulating linlng 48 may beapplied to .the cap 11.

In operation when the current flow through the circuit breakerbecomesexcessive, the armature is attracted t0ward the core 17 therebywithdrawing the latch member 34 from the path of the circuit-breakingarm 22, thus permitting the action of the spring 26, swinging said armtoward-the contacts 18 and 20 and causing the insulating blade 24 toenter between and separate said contacts, thus breaking the circuit. Thecircuit is again completed and the circuit breaker ready for anotheroperation merely by turning the spindle'23 through the medium of itsknob 25.

I would state in conclusion that while the illustrated exampleconstitutes a practical embodiment of my invention, I do not limit.

myself strictly to the mechanical details herein illustrated, sincemanifestly the same 'can be considerably varied without deparhire fromthe spirit of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus describedmy invention, I claim: Y '1. A circuit breakerincluding a hollow plug adapted to plug receptacles, separate contactelements adapted to be placed in circuit with conductor wires, an.electro-magnetic device in circuit with said contacts and comprisingcoils housed within said hollow plug, a swingable circuit-breakingdevice adapted to engage and separate. said contacts or to assume aposition away from said contacts, and means tending automatically toswing said circuit-breaking device into engagement with the contacts,said circuitbreaking device being subject to a predetermined power to bedeveloped by the electric current in said electro-magnetic device.

2. A circuit breaker i'ncludinga hollow plug adapted to plugreceptacles, separate contact element adapted to be placed in circuitwith conductor wires, an electromagnetic device in circuit with saidcontacts and comprising coils housed within said hollow plug, aswingablecircuit-breaking device adapted to engage and separate said contacts orto assume a position away from said contacts, means tending to swingsaid circuit-breaking device to a position for separating said contacts,and a stop normally in the path of movement of said circuit-breakingdevice to prevent a circuitspindle carrying said circuit-breaking de-.

vice, a spring tending to turn said" spindle for moving thecircuit-breaking device to circuit-breaking position, an armature leversubject to said electro-magnetic device, a. stop on said armature leverand normally restraining the circuit-breaking device and spindle againstturning, and means controllable from the exterior of thecircuit-breaking device and adjustable for varying the resistance ofsaid armature lever to the attraction of the electro-magnetic device.

4. A circuit breaker adapted to plug receptacles and including aninsulating disk, a hollow plug at the front of said disk,'sep-. arablecontact elements adapted to be placed in circuitwith conductor wires, aswingable circuit-breaking device movable in an arcuate path from aposition out of engage ment with said contacts to a position engagingthe latter, spring means tending to swing said circuit-breaking devicefor breaking the circuit, an electro-magnetic device in circuit withsaid contacts and comprising coils housed within said hollow plug, anarmature sub ect to a predetermlned current energizing saidelectro-magnetic device,

' a stop on said armature and normally disposed in the path of movementof the circuit-breaking deviceto move out of said path with a movementof the armature, and

i said contacts to a position engaging the means on said armatureadapted. to engage said disk and prevent actual contact of the armaturewith the electro-magnetic device.

5. A circuit breaker including separable contact elements adapted to beplaced in Cil'f cuit with conductor wires, an electro-mag- I 'neticdevice in circuit with said contacts,

a circuit-breaking arm adapted to move from a position out of engagementwith contacts and separating the same for breaking the circuit, aspindle carrying said arm and turnable from the exterior of the circuitbreaker for resetting said arm out of engagement with the contacts, atorsion spring tending to turn said spindle and swing said arm tocircuit-breaking position, an armature subject to said electromagneticdevice, and a stop on said arm and normally in the path of said arm torestrain-the latter out of engagement with the contacts until thearmature is attracted by said electro-magnetic device.- I 6. A circuitbreaker including separable contact elementsadapted to be-placed incircuit with conductor wires, an .electromagnetic device in circuit withsaid contacts, a circuit-breaking device; movable from a position out:of engagement with said contacts to a position engaging and separatingsaid contacts for breaking the circuit, means tending to throw saidcircuitbreaking device toa circuit-breaking posi tion, resetting meansfor said circuit-breakingdevice and controllable from the exte- 10 riorof the circuit breaker, an armature leven subject to saidelectro-m'agnetic .device, a stop on saidiarmature lever and normallyrestraining said circuit-breaking-device from movement to thecircuit-breaking 1.05. position and movable with said armature forreleasing said circuit-breaking device, a spring on said armature andextending at the opposite side of the fulcrum from, said stop, and meansoperable from the ex- 11 .terior of the circuit-breaker for varying thetension of said spring to vary the resistance of the armature lever tothe electromagnetic'device. I

7.. A circuit breaker including separable 15 contact elements adapted tobe placed circuit with conductor wires, an electro-magnetic device incircuit with" said contacts, a circuit-breakingdevice movable from aposition out of engagement with said contacts' to a position engagingand separating said contacts for breaking the circuit, means tending tothrow .said circuit-breaking device to a circuit-breaking position,resetting means for said circuit-breaking de- 1 vice and controllablefromthe exterior of the circuit breaker, an armature lever subject tosaid electromagneticdevice, a stop on saidarmature lever and normallyrestraining said circult-breaklng device from movement to thecircuit-breaking position and movable with said armature for releasingsaid circuit-breaking device, a spring the circuit breaker for varyingthe tension of said spring to vary the resistance of the armature leverto the electro-magnetic devlce; together with coaoting indicatorelements on the last-mentioned means and on a relatively fixed part atthe exterior of the circuit breaker.

GWYN OSCAR OWEN DAVIES.

